Greek tragedy for customer as online complaint leads to court action

An authorised Apple reseller has sued a customer for defamation after complaining about poor service on the grounds that the gripes were damaging to its reputation.

According to the Greek newspaper Proto Thema, after physician Dimitris Papadimitriadis found dark patches on the screen of his iMac, he took it to reseller Systemgraph for servicing. The support firm recommended that he replace the LCD panel and that interior and exterior cleaning be undertaken.

But when Papadimitriadis came back to pick up the machine, he claimed that it now had moisture spots behind the screen and the LCD panel was not fixed. He then reportedly turned down Systemgraph’s offer to clean the iMac again, saying he had lost confidence in the firm.

In an online forum, Papadimitriadis said: “I insisted that such a computer ceases to be credible and relied on Article 540 of the Civil Code and section 5 of Act 2251, pursuant to which I have the legal right to ask for a refund or replacement with my new PC under warranty.”

He claimed that Systemgraph refused to comply because he had not purchased the machine from it, even though he told the company that he had followed all of the procedures set out on Apple’s website.

After taking his case to the Greek consumer ombudsman, Papdimitriadis posted his story on an online forum, but was subsequently sued by Systemgraph to the tune of E200,000 for damage to reputation despite an apparent lack of libellous statements in his post.

The court hearing is to be held on 19 January and, in its complaint, Systemgraph reportedly claimed that, because the issue has been picked up across cyberspace - and particularly on Twitter - there has been an “organised attempt to slander and insult” its name.